Goals:

The students will become more familiar with the Atlantic Ocean and its surrounding continents.

The students will use navigational skills to figure out complex problems having to do with the Titanic.

The students will work in cooperative groups to figure out problems.

The students will use their mathematical knowledge to solve problems.

The students will find the coordinates of the Titanic's final resting place and will plot its course through the Atlantic Ocean.

Materials:

several maps of the Atlantic Ocean

rulers

pencils

paper

Time:

This lesson will take two hours.

Procedures:

1.  Divide the students into groups of 3-4 people depending on how many maps you are able to obtain.

2.  Each group of students shall have a map of the North Atlantic. Discuss briefly the course the Titanic was taking. (The Titanic started from Southampton, England, and stopped at Cherbourg, France and Queenstown, Ireland. Its final destination was New York, USA.)

3.  Let the students find all of these locations on the map and trace with their fingers the Titanic's route.

4.  Next give the following information to the students and let them figure out approximately where the Titanic sank using their knowledge of longitude and latitude. (The Titanic sank 1000 miles due east of Boston, Massachusetts, and 375 miles southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland.) In order for the students to figure this out they must first find the locations of these two places and then use the map scale to find the coordinates.

5.  Let each group give their estimation of where they believe the Titanic rests. Then give them the correct locations. (stern at 41 43'35" N, 49 56'54" W; boilers at 41 43'32" N, 49, 56'49" W; bow at 41 43'57" N, 49 56'49" W)

6.  Each group must trace the outline of the resting pieces of the Titanic and the route the ship was taking.

7.  Next the students will figure out how far the Titanic was from its plotted course. The students will do this by taking the coordinates of where it sank and figure out the distance between there and the ship's final destination - New York, USA.

8.  Each group will give their findings.

9.  Lead a class discussion on the sinking of the Titanic.

Assessment:

The students will be assessed by the participation rubric.

Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:

Math - using mathematical concepts to solve problems

Geography - locating cities in countries; becoming familiar with the Atlantic Ocean.

Social Studies - using navigational skills to figure out complex problems.

Possible Extensions:

Have the students make their own maps of the Titanic's route.

Have the students learn about the cultures of the cities they had visited on their route.

The Titanic - developed by Kelly Coleman, Nikki Cosgrove, Megan Mills, & Dorothy Weber

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This page submitted by St. Norbert College Ocean Voyagers Program.